Todd Benkert leaves SBC abuse task force after conflict over pastor’s restoration

Published

2 years ago

February 20, 2023

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(RNS) — Todd Benkert, a Southern Baptist pastor who helped force reforms in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination’s sexual abuse policies, has stepped down from a task force he was appointed to last year to implement those reforms.

Benkert’s role on the committee became controversial this week due to a public dispute involving a Florida megachurch that restored SBC President Johnny Hunt to active ministry after he had been credibly accused of sexual assault.

RELATED: Southern Baptists passed abuse reforms last year. Now they have to make them stick.

Hunt was one of a number of SBC leaders named in a 2022 report from the investigative firm Guidepost Solutions hired by the denomination in 2021 to resolve long-running conflicts over sexual abuse. The report found those leaders had chronically mistreated survivors of abuse and spent decades trying to deny responsibility for abuse at individual SBC churches.

The report led delegates at the 2022 SBC’s annual meeting to set up a series of reforms designed to prevent abuse and care for abuse survivors and directed that SBC leaders appoint the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force.

In preparing its report, Guidepost investigated allegations that Hunt, a retired Georgia megachurch pastor, had assaulted another pastor’s wife in 2010, then spent years covering up his actions.

Hunt first denied the allegations and later claimed the incident had been consensual. After taking several months away from preaching, Hunt returned to the pulpit on Jan. 18 at Hiland Park Baptist Church in Panama City, Florida, where the Rev. Steven L. Kyle, a friend, is pastor.

During his January sermon, Hunt claimed “false allegations” had ruined his life.

Kyle and a group of other pastors announced late last fall that Hunt had been through a restoration process and was cleared to return to ministry. That decision was denounced by a number of Baptist leaders, including current SBC President Bart Barber.

After Hunt’s January sermon, Benkert filed a complaint against Hiland Park and another church where Hunt had been invited to speak and told a reporter from The Tennessean newspaper that he had done so. The denomination’s credentials committee, which determines which churches are in good standing, is weighing whether to recommend expelling those churches for not taking the issue of abuse seriously.

In response, leaders at Hiland Park wrote to the credentials committee this week claiming there was no proof Hunt had been abusive and objecting to Benkert’s actions, accusing him of acting as both an activist and a task force member. Hiland Park’s leaders said they will meet with a lawyer to discuss “all of our legal recourses.”

Benkert, pastor of Oak Creek Community Church in Mishawaka, Indiana, said he has been honored to serve on the task force and that he hoped to support their work in the future.

“However, in order to maintain my ability to speak and act according to my conscience on these issues without representing the task force, it is clear I can best support survivors and advance reform in my role as an advocate rather than a task force member,” he said in a statement.

Relatively unknown until he took a key role in the SBC abuse reform movement two years ago, Benkert was one of several pastors who called for an investigation into the SBC’s treatment of abuse survivors at the denomination’s 2021 annual meeting in Nashville. SBC leaders initially moved to refer the matter to a committee, which would have effectively derailed any independent investigation.

But Benkert went to a floor microphone at the convention to challenge that decision, sending the matter to a vote by delegates at the meeting, known as messengers, that overruled the leaders. They eventually approved an independent investigation.

RELATED: Johnny Hunt, disgraced former SBC pastor, makes defiant return to the pulpit

In an announcement that Benkert had resigned, the task force’s chairman, South Carolina pastor Marshall Blalock, said, “Todd has a clear concern for survivors and a passion to see needed changes implemented concerning abuse. We are grateful for Todd’s work and ongoing advocacy in support of abuse reform in the Southern Baptist Convention.” Share Tweet Share

UK

UK weather: Warning over flight delays as fog forces ‘air traffic restrictions’

Published

1 hour ago

December 28, 2024

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UK weather: Warning over flight delays as fog forces 'air traffic restrictions'

Flight delays are expected as the UK sees more heavy fog.

It comes after 20,000 people were affected by airport disruption on Thursday, according to travel journalist Simon Calder.

“Temporary air traffic restrictions have been put in place due to fog causing poor visibility. Some flights may be delayed throughout the day,” a spokesperson for Gatwick Airport said.

“London Gatwick apologises for any inconvenience. Passengers should contact their airline for further information,” they added.

At Gatwick 35 departures scheduled up to 11am are delayed and 26 flight arrivals are delayed up to the same time. Two flights are cancelled. At Heathrow 20 flight departures scheduled to leave before 11am are delayed. At Manchester airport 16 arrivals are delayed up to 11am.

Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast about the disruption yesterday Mr Calder said: “We had at London City Airport, at London Heathrow, the busiest in Britain, at London Gatwick, the second busiest, more than 40 cancellations in and out from each of those airports.”

The thick fog will continue on Saturday according to the Met Office, with some areas seeing visibility reduced to just 100 metres.

Get the weather forecast where you are

The worst of the fog is forecast to hit the South East and central England, while East Anglia and parts of South Wales will also be affected.

Forecasters have not issued any fog weather warnings yet but the Met Office said it will monitor the situation across the weekend.

Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslick said: “It’s that time of year when people are travelling around the country a lot and there are a lot of people on the roads.

“There is a lot of fog covering much of England, mainly the South East and central England, but the rest of the country is seeing quite a bit of thick fog too.

“It will be pretty murky on Saturday morning and there will still be fog patches that will take a little longer to clear.”

Meanwhile, there is a yellow warning in place for heavy rain in parts of Scotland for Monday and New Year’s Eve on Tuesday, leaving the start of 2025 “distinctly unsettled”.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations could face “significant disruption” from rain, with organisers warning audiences to “prepare for all weather, wrap up warm and double-check with your travel operator for the latest updates.”

The yellow warning could see as much as 140mm (5.5in) of rain in places, as other parts of the UK will likely see rain, wind and possibly even snow later on next week.

The Met Office added that “more warnings are likely to be issued”.

At Heathrow, British Airways was forced to cancel a handful of flights due to fog on Friday, while others were delayed.

Flights at both Gatwick and Manchester Airport were disrupted, with delays of up to three hours at Gatwick, and some passengers were diverted to other airports.

“The diversions were absolutely extreme,” said Mr Calder. At Teesside Airport, flights were diverted to Newcastle, Aberdeen and even Dublin.

This could continue into the weekend if the misty weather persists.

A spokesperson for the UK’s main air traffic control provider Nats said it had implemented “temporary air traffic restrictions” at several airports on Friday due to the fog.

Can I get compensation if my flight is delayed?

If your flight is affected by the disruption, you won’t be able to get any cash back, according to Mr Calder, as “bad weather is beyond the airline’s control”.

“However, every airline that cancels a flight is obliged to find for its passengers an alternative flight as soon as possible,” he said.

While the fog likely won’t remain past the weekend, people should not hold out hope for sustained sunshine with wet and windy conditions expected for much of the country, the Met Office said.

Sports

Bregman, Buehler team up for big Santa Anita win

Published

6 hours ago

December 28, 2024

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Bregman, Buehler team up for big Santa Anita win

ESPN News Services

Dec 27, 2024, 10:21 PM ET

ARCADIA, Calif. — All-Stars Alex Bregman and Walker Buehler have teamed as owners of a 3-year-old colt that won for the first time at Santa Anita on Friday.

March of Time defeated four rivals by 2¼ lengths to win a six-furlong sprint race worth $60,000 that was designated for horses that had never won. The $60,000 purse was representative of the quality of the horses entered.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, March of Time paid $4.60 to win as the wagering favorite. The colt took over the lead in the upper stretch and put away eventual runner-up Santarena with a furlong to go.

1 for 1 LETS GO https://t.co/FZbQPH66au

— Walker Buehler (@buehlersdayoff) December 28, 2024

Sired by 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, who was trained by Baffert, the colt’s other owner is Baffert’s wife, Jill.

Buehler, who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series this year and reportedly has agreed to a free agent deal with the Boston Red Sox, is a longtime friend of the couple.

Bregman, also a free agent, spent the past nine seasons playing third base for the Houston Astros and helped them to a pair of World Series titles.

March of Time was previously owned by the high-powered trio of Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith of Coolmore. The colt finished second in his racing debut a year ago.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

US

Scottie Scheffler: Freak Christmas dinner injury forces world’s best golfer to undergo surgery

Published

7 hours ago

December 28, 2024

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Scottie Scheffler: Freak Christmas dinner injury forces world's best golfer to undergo surgery

The world’s best golfer has suffered a freak injury while cooking Christmas dinner, forcing him to undergo surgery.

Scottie Scheffler sustained a puncture wound after cutting the palm of his right hand on broken glass.

The world number one required surgery as small glass fragments remained in the palm after the accident.

The injury has forced him out of the first tournament of the season, next week’s The Sentry in Hawaii.

But the 28-year-old has been told he will recover in three to four weeks, and he hopes to be back in action at The American Express tournament in California on 16 January.

Scheffler won an Olympic gold and seven PGA Tour titles in the last year and was recently named PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for a third season in a row.

In May, he was arrested by police during the US PGA Championship after he was accused of trying to drive around a traffic jam caused by a fatal accident.

Just hours later, he was released and allowed to return to Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky to play his second round of the tournament.

Criminal charges against Scheffler were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence and a police officer who arrested him was disciplined for not having his bodycam on at the time of the incident.